The Competition Commission has approved AltX-listed telecommunications company Huge Group's purchase of Centracell, a deal that will see Huge generate monthly annuity revenue of over R47 million.
This was the last outstanding item for completion of the Centracell purchase, said Huge in a statement.
Huge's purchase of Centracell was first announced in August 2007, barely a week after the Huge Group's successful listing on the JSE's AltX exchange.
The deal was said to be worth R80 million in cash and shares, broken into R58.4 million in cash and 6.7 million shares, at a price of R3.20 a share.
Huge Group FD James Herbst says the company is delighted to finally put this transaction to bed.
"The approval took far longer than we expected; consequently we are more than eager to get to grips with extracting the expected synergies."
CEO Anton Potgieter says the business of Centracell will be merged as a subsidiary of Huge Telecom.
The Huge Group provides managed telecommunications services for corporate SA, he says.
The addition of Centracell gives Huge Telecom a critical mass, which will translate into key benefits that include better service delivery, economies of scale, purchasing power and margin uplift, he says. Potgieter also expects strong organic growth in Huge Telecom over the coming financial year.
The Huge Group is still waiting for the Competition Commission's approval for its acquisition of iTalk Cellular, which was announced in December 2007. Huge Group will pay R511 million for its proposed acquisition of 59% of iTalk Cellular. iTalk adds a strong consumer-focused offering to the group, the company says.
Related stories:
Huge Group lists on AltX
TelePassport goes it alone
Huge Group aims to get bigger
Share